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Ring of Combat XXXIV took place at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City.

Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat returned to the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City on Friday night for its first card of 2011, with Ring of Combat XXXIV showcasing some of the top prospects in the game of Mixed Martial Arts. 14 fights were on the overall bill, including four title matches, and below is a breakdown of the preliminary bouts that got the evening started. Matches in this portion of the show consisted of two four-minute rounds.

Manny Millan (2-2) vs. Mike Benoit (5-0) – 145 lbs.
This match got the night underway with some striking early before Benoit scored the first takedown in the opening round. The Bellmore Kickboxing representative then locked in a tight grip around the throat of his opponent for well over a minute, which appeared to shut down some of the equilibrium in the head of Millan. Once the choke hold was broken, the two fighters separated, but Benoit quickly dropped his opposition with a hard right hand. However, Millan was able to survive the frame and even finished the round on top in ground control. When the second bell sounded, some good stand-up exchanges ensued, with Benoit working some nice knees in the Muay Thai clinch. He eventually registered another takedown in the latter half of the round, and he rode out the remaining time with some solid ground and pound. After the two frames had concluded, Benoit kept his perfect record intact by recording straight 20-18 tallies on the score cards.

Jimbo Hoffman (9-1) vs. Yaser Shaukut (0-2) – 145 lbs.
Hoffman looked about as impressive as one can look in 47 seconds of work. After both competitors hit the ground early after a simultaneous exchange, Hoffman pounced on Shaukut before he could gather himself, quickly jumping into the full-mount. With his opposition’s arms pinned under him, the Team Veridetta fighter began to absolutely unload on Shaukut and fired off what seemed like over 100 punches to the head. He then briefly stopped the peppering and immediately slapped on a guillotine choke, forcing the submission of Shaukut just 47 seconds into the opening frame.

Sergio da Silva (4-3) vs. Alp Ozkillic (2-0) – 135 lbs.
Turkish Mixed Martial Artist Ozkillic was able to pick up his second consecutive win in this pairing, which saw both rounds open at a rather slow pace. Da Silva tried to find his advantages throughout the eight minutes of competition by shooting on Ozkillic, who was able to sprawl and withstand the Brazilian’s attempts. He then retaliated with his own takedown conversions, turning the tables with some ground and pound. While the action may not have been very frantic, Ozkillic impressed the judges enough to get flush 20-18 counts.